With the onset of spring, we start to shed our grievances about the weather we have experienced. Reliance on heating systems may be on the wane but temperatures may still hover in the mid-teens. The same dependence on artificial conditioning systems will be felt as the summer heat starts to oppress us.
With rising living standards, our expectations of comfort also increase, putting into focus the performance of the buildings in which we live and work. Initiatives such as energy performance certificates for buildings put numbers to the energy efficiency of our homes in the same way as we have understood the benefits of classifying many of the goods and home appliances in terms of energy efficiency.
These are the fundamental needs which green building and sustainable design address. We are surrounded by various products ranging from thermal insulation and specialised building components to high efficiency air conditioning systems and renewable energy systems. With the ever-increasing products on offer, it is not always an easy task to reach an informed decision.
The Building Industry Consultative Council is embarking on a pro-ject to inform the public about different types of building interventions, increasing product visibility and therefore competition, and providing building industry professionals with information to implement better performing buildings. The project will provide information which will enable the building industry to adopt construction practices which lead to an improvement in the energy efficiency of new-build and existing buildings.
Within this project context, green building technology will refer to the design construction techniques, building materials and elements of the building fabric which result in reduced energy consumption in buildings, sustainable use of resources, as well as renewable energy sources which can be integrated in the building fabric.
The project will respond to a number of demands including the need for an easily accessible organised list of available green products related to buildings and possibility of technical comparison. The website would also provide information about best and correct use of different products and technologies within the local context.
The main scope of this website is to provide an online forum where people including professionals can share their experiences in the use of green building technologies. It would also help increase public awareness about green building products available as well as encourage more competition in the green building product market by providing access to advice addressing aspects of the implementation of green building technologies in both new build and retrofit markets.
This project is being done in collaboration with the Malta Resources Authority, which is a beneficiary of an ERDF Project (ERDF 088) entitled Renewable Energy Sources in the Domestic Sector.
This website will include a product catalogue of locally available green building technologies and listings of certified technicians, designers, and consultancy and specialist services. Non-technical advice for homeowners investing in energy-saving measures will be continually uploaded. More detailed technical product information will also be available allowing site visitors to use the website as a reference tool.
It is expected that through this website, increased public exposure to the green building products and technologies would promote an enhanced informed adoption of these technologies and more energy efficiency awareness. In the long term, this would lead to an overall reduction on dependence on non-renewable fossil fuels and less energy poverty while supporting the Government in attaining our energy targets for EU 2020.
By focusing on different market segments, the website is expected to act as a common source of reference while acting as a marketing platform for green building product and services suppliers.
The Building Industry Consultative Council is a consultative body consisting of public and private stakeholders with an interest in the building construction industry. It was set up in 1997 by an Act of Parliament (resolution no. 74) to discuss issues pertaining to the building and construction sector and to advise the government and private industry on the upgrading of the industry. Over the years BICC has encouraged educational services providers to deliver education and training services based on the current needs of the sector. The current executive chairman is architect Charles Buhagiar M.P.
Architect Ivan F. Bartolo is green building technologies project officer at the Building Industry Consultative Council.